Obviously, I mean it has to be a goal for anyone who comes into the league with a shot at being a star. But more to the point, he feels he's worthy of consideration

Add everything up, and it's not crazy to see Carter as a Hall of Fame candidate. In fact, he thinks he deserves consideration. From Chris Tomasson for FoxSports.com (via SLAM):

“Of course, that’s a goal,’’ Carter, a Daytona Beach native who returns to his home state Sunday to face the Orlando Magic, one of his former teams. “You hope [Carter’s career is] good enough. It would be a definite honor to go down into history with the greatest. I would love to be considered for the Hall of Fame … but I’m still trying to finish my career.’’ [...]

“That’s a tough call,’’ said Dallas center Chris Kaman. “I lean toward yes, but then again, you never know. … The cons are he never won a ring, but the pros are he had some great seasons where he really played well, went to All-Star Games, and with the amount of points he’s scored.’’

ProBasketballReference.com, which has a Hall of Fame monitor, lists Carter’s chances of being enshrined at 78.6 percent. But that’s down from 79.1 at the start of this month, and likely will continue to fall as Carter’s stats drop.

Using history as a gauge, Carter probably will make it to Springfield. He’s made eight NBA All-Star Games. The only eligible player to have that many selections without a Hall of Fame call is Larry Foust, a center who played from 1950 to 1962 and averaged 13.7 points and 9.8 rebounds.

I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen once his career is done and he's eligible. He's moving up the all-time scoring list, he's a multi-time All-Star, and despite the many valid criticisms we can make of his career, he was a significant player in the league for a while there. He probably shouldn't be in first ballot when the time comes, but he's probably done enough to deserve the nod at some point when it's all said and done.

hova- wrote:With that said, the HoF already had a lot of questionable entries, so who cares at all.

That's the common criticism of the Hall, however I'm guessing that the number of players with a legitimate case to be recognised greatly exceeds those that have no business being there or at the very least particularly iffy inductees.

He's also ahead of Hall of Famers David Robinson, George Gervin, Walt Bellamy and Hal Greer on the all-time scoring leaders, currently closing in Larry Bird (much to Bill Simmons' chagrin on a recent broadcast).

He is famous enough for the Hall, imo. He was good enough to be any team's go to player, and very marketable. While not winning any championships, his high flying acrobats put him over the top. This sounds familiar.

Pdub wrote:He is famous enough for the Hall, imo. He was good enough to be any team's go to player, and very marketable. While not winning any championships, his high flying acrobats put him over the top. This sounds familiar.

Another question comes to mine about VC. Anyone think the controversy surrounding him in Toronto after it was reported that he said he didn't play his hardest would count against his chances of getting into the hall of fame?

whoa. i forgot how explosive he was. loved playing as the raptors in live 98, 99, 2000, 2001. notice the big difference between the raptors dunks and nets dunks? although the one on Zo was pretty nice.

Pdub wrote:Another question comes to mine about VC. Anyone think the controversy surrounding him in Toronto after it was reported that he said he didn't play his hardest would count against his chances of getting into the hall of fame?

It's definitely a blot on his career, but I don't think it'll matter in the end. I thought that Dennis Rodman's off-court antics might keep him out of the Hall but he was inducted (first ballot no less, which was great to see), so I don't think Carter's embarrassing split with the Raptors will be a huge factor. The fact he wasn't the top dog on a championship team might prevent him from making it the first time around if there are other nominees who deserve it a little more, but if that's the case he'll probably be inducted the next year.

hova- wrote:iirc the Nets never passed the 2nd round with him and the Raptors made the ECF once. Is this right? If it is, my statement stays like it is.

And how far do you think those teams would have gotten without him?

Don't know about the Raptors, but the way he left the team alone makes his entry questionable. Unsportsmanlike. The Nets were pretty good without him before so I don't know if he was really that important for the team.

I know VC can play and has delivered at times, maybe I just tend to overrate the HoF. The HoF should be like Bill Simmons describes it in his BoB. Just make it a pyramide and drop Vince on the first floor, than it'd be okay.

Well, I'm not making any claims about Carter in the Hall, I personally think the Hall is overly generous and political. Just questioning this notion of "winner" because Carter had a run with the Raptors where he was an elite level perimeter player and another run where he put the morbid Nets back in the playoffs. (And had some scorching scoring performances.) Carter played a central role in those teams making any playoff noise at all.

Carter's real problem (legacy-wise) is that he peaked too soon and got injured (which set his game back for a couple years) just as a desperate franchise made gobs of boneheaded short-sighted moves in order to keep him on the mistaken notion they were inches away. (And lost a superior player in the process.)

Pdub wrote:Another question comes to mine about VC. Anyone think the controversy surrounding him in Toronto after it was reported that he said he didn't play his hardest would count against his chances of getting into the hall of fame?

It's definitely a blot on his career, but I don't think it'll matter in the end. I thought that Dennis Rodman's off-court antics might keep him out of the Hall but he was inducted (first ballot no less, which was great to see), so I don't think Carter's embarrassing split with the Raptors will be a huge factor.

"Hell, yeah, of course. I've been a Hall of Famer like four years ago," the Miami Heat center told FOX Sports Florida after Friday's 110-88 victory over Detroit. "And I say that very serious, though. I've talked about it before with my friends."

Four years ago? I don't know, his chances may have been a bit spottier then but as an eight time All-Star who was the third best player on a team that made the Finals two years in a row, winning the second time around, I'd say he gets the nod fairly easily (and his career obviously isn't over yet). As benji noted above, B-R calculates his probability of induction at around 82% with anything over 70% proving to be good odds. For what it's worth, James Worthy - also the third best player on championship teams with a probability around 82% - made the Hall.

I think he will make it too but the manner he spoke in. he sounds somewhat arrogant. lol especially for a player that is on one of the most hated teams in the league, it sounds like he didn't express himself in the best possible manner so it don't offend too many people and already so many haters. But instead I get this feeling that he was starving for attention whether good or bad.

A little more humility would've been more PR-friendly, but I guess you have to admire his candour. Also, as you said, perhaps he felt like grabbing some headlines seeing as how he's kind of overlooked at times behind LeBron and Wade.

Pdub wrote:Another question comes to mine about VC. Anyone think the controversy surrounding him in Toronto after it was reported that he said he didn't play his hardest would count against his chances of getting into the hall of fame?

if he really wanted to be a hall of famer he would have played his hardest every night. actions > words

He is HoF material, but still I think he had to play a little harder at times. He still has a nice chance of being inducted,but he could be in even better condition if he played harded day in and day out.

Basketball Reference says yes, I'm inclined to agree. That said, T-Mac probably still has a pretty decent shot given he established himself as a significant player for the better part of last decade and is in the top 100 for some all-time leaders lists.

George7 wrote:He is HoF material, but still I think he had to play a little harder at times. He still has a nice chance of being inducted,but he could be in even better condition if he played harded day in and day out.

Lmao @ Chris Bosh hacing a chance to enter the HoF. Not worthy...

Bosh has made 8 all star games in 9 years in the league. He's definitely on that HOF track and if he gets a couple more rings he will widely be considered a lock.

Vince has already passed Bird and Payton this season in the all time scoring list, he's likely to pass Clyde Drexler next season too.

Taking all into consideration, I think he should be inducted to the HoF, players were inducted for less and you can honestly say that Vince has been one of the most electrifying players to watch in his prime and the one who most people define as the best dunker of all time.

Also, I agree with what was said about Bosh, don't think he should be that high on the consideration list.

Based on his career stats and accomplishments, not to mention some of the players that have already been inducted or are considered worthy of the Hall when they hang it up, I'd say that Bosh qualifies and is a safe bet.